Lawn-mower attachment.



Patented July I, I902. W. J. GLEASON.

LAWN MOWER ATTACHMENT.

(Application filed my 14, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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no. 703,650. Patented July I, I902.

. w-. J. GLEASON.

LAWN MOWER ATTABHMENT.

(Application filed m 14, 1901.

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UNITED STATES.

PATENT. OFFICE.

WILLIAM J. GLEASON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALFTO JAMES MEGONIGAL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

LAWN-MOWER ATTACHMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 703,650, dated July 1,1902.

Application filed Marl t, wef- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. GLEASON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a certain new: and useful Improvement inLawn-MowerAttachments, of which. the following is a specification, j A HMy invention relates to a newr'and useful improvement in, lawn-mowers,and especially relates to that class o f'lawn-mowers adapted ments canalso be applied to mowers driven by hand-power, and has for its objectto provide a lawn-mower with a grass-receiving re; ceptacle carried inthe rear of the machine. and providing a traveling apron adapted toconvey the cut grass from the rotary cutters to thegrass-receivingreceptacleand alsopro- Vide meanstobe operated from theseat in horse-power machines for dumping the receptacle, and anotherobject is to provide means in horse-power machines whereby the mowercanbe steered by foot-power.

With these ends in View this invention consists in thedetails ofconstruction and combination of elements hereinafterset forth and thenspecifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this inventionappertains may understand .how to make and usethe same, the constructionandoperation willlnow bedescribed ings, forming apart of thisspecification, in whichv .l

Figure 1 represents aside elevation of my lawn-mower; Fig. 2,1a planview of the same Fig. 3, a longitudinal section of the same; Fig. 4, adetail view of the gear-wheel upon the roller at the upper end of theapron, showing the ratchet mechanism which allows the machine to travelbackward without causing the apron'to travel; Fig. 5, a perspective viewof the bracket to which the lower end of the side guard is attached;Fig. 6, a. perspective View of the end of the side bar at the rear endof the machine; Fig. 7, a perspective view of the draft-bar with thesingletree attached thereto; Fig. 8, a side elevation of a handpowermower with my improvements applied thereto, and Fig. 9 a detailperspective View Serial No. 60,229. (No model.)

In carrying out myfinvention asiembodied.

inl igshlfto 7, inclusive,- A*represents the lside'frames of themachine, inwhich is jour- =naled the cylindrical cutter B, the knives ofwhich operate against the stationary cuttingblade O.

I 5 D is aplatform, which is hinged at one end to allow-access to thecylindrical cutter B. to be driven by horse-power .but myimprove To thisplatform islsecurcd theseat E.

F represents caster-wheels, which are journaled inthe forward end of theframework of the machine and are adapted to support this forward end andkeep the stationary cutting-blade O at the right distance from theground.

Grepresents side bars, which are secured to the main frame of themachine at the point H and extend rearwardly at an angle, and the endsof these side bars are bent and formed T shape in themanner shown inFig. '6, as indicated by the letter I. 'From'eachprong of these T-shaped portions 1: rods J extend forward ,and downward,iwhich,are secured toan L- shaped bracketK, and across these two rods is stretchedoanvas L,which forms a side guard, preventing the grass from falling over theside of the machine. A roller M is journaled in the end of thehorizontal member of theL-shaped bracket K, and this roller normallylies a slight distance from off the ground, and the purpose of thisroller is that if either or both of the caster-wheelsFshould fall withina depression in the ground the roller M then coming in contact with theground would keep the stationary cutterblade C at the proper distancefrom the ground and the grass the right length.

N is an endless apron which passesarouud the idle roller 0, journaledmore elbows of the L-shaped brackets K. This apron N also passesaroun'dtheroller P, journal'ed between the side bars Gat the ,upper andrearward end of the machine. The uppe'fend-of this apron N is adapted totravel rearwardly as the machine advances.

Q is a semicircular grass-receptacle, which is pivoted to the side barsG at the point B,

and the rounded portion of this receptacle extends downward to a pointnear the ground. The idle apron-roller being journaled at a point nearthe rear of the cylindrical cutter B will cause the apron N to receivethe cut grass as it is thrown from the cutters, and as the apron travelsrearwardly the cut grass will be carried over the roller 1 and fallwithin the receptacle Q.

S is a roller which is usually used in rolling over the grass after itis cut. This roller is journaled in the rear of the horizontal frame ofthe machine and supports the machine at the rear. This roller S alsofurnishes motive power to the apron N by means of the belt or chain T,which passes around the sprocket-wheel 11., secured upon the same shaftas the roller S. At a point along the side bar G a short shaft or studis secured, upon which is journaled the small sprocketwheel 1;, aroundwhich passes the chain T. Secured to this small sprocket-wheel t andadapted to revolve therewith is a larger sprocket-wheel n), around whichpasses another chain X, which chain also passes around a sprocket-wheelY, journaled in the side bar.

Y is a gear-wheel secured upon the same shaft as the sprocket Y, andthis gear-wheel meshes with another gear-wheel Y j ournaled loosely uponthe same shaft as the roller P.

I is a ratchet-wheel, which is secured upon the same shaft as the rollerP.

P is a pawl secured to the gear-wheel Y which is adapted to engage theteeth of the ratchet-wheel I and held in engagement with such teeth bymeans of the spring P Thus when the gear-wheel Y is rotated in thedirection of the arrow, Fig. 4, the pawl will cause the ratchet-wheel toalso rotate,

which will in turn impart the motion to the roller]? and the apron N;but if the machine is caused to travel backward for any purposewhatsoever the gear-wheel Y will then revolve in the opposite direction,and then the pawl will slip over the ratchet-teeth without revolving theratchet-wheel, and thus the apron N will remain stationary during thisbackward movement of the machine. Thus motion is communicated from theroller S to the apron-roller P, which will cause said apron to travelbackward and upward.

The sides of the grass-receptacle Q are pivoted to the side bars G uponthe outside, and the rear end of the receptacle passes outside of theends of the side bars G, and this rear end of the receptacle Q hassecured to it the link Z. The other end of this link is secured to alever a, which is pivoted to the platform D at the point I). This link Zand lover a are for the purpose of depositing the cut grass after thesaid receptacle is filled and is accomplished by simply pushing thelever a forward, which will rock the receptacle Q, upon the pivot R andinvert the same, and after the grass has been deposited by pulling thelever back the receptacle will resume its normal position. To the upperend of the shanks of the caster-wheels F are secured rigidly the rods d.To the inner ends of these rods are secured links a. The other ends ofthese links are connected to each end of a cross-bar f, which cross-baris pivoted in its center at the point g to the platform D. Footpieces hare secured upon the links 6. In these footpieces h are adapted to restthe feet of the operator, and by pressing forward one of these thecaster-wheels will be turned at an angle in one direction, and bypressing forward on the other the angle will be reversed. without theuse of the hands.

t is a draft-bar, which is pivoted at the forward end of the frameworkof the machine and is supportod by a linkj, one end of which is securedto the draft-bar and the other end to the seat-support.

The advantage of my invention is that by a very simple arrangement andthe few number of parts I provide effective means of conveying the cutgrass from the rotary cutter to a receptacle in the rear of the machine,and this receptacle being located in the rear of the machine can be madeany size desired, and to empty such receptacle in the horsepower machinethe operator doesnot have to leave the seat of the machine, and afurther object of my invention is that by providing an apparatus in thehorse-power mower whereby the machine can be steered with foot power thedriver does not have to depend upon the horses for guiding the machine.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction hereshown, as slight modifications could be made without departing from thespirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and usefulis- 1. In combination, in a lawn-mower, a framework, a cylindricalcutter journaled in said framework, a stationary cutter-blade alsosecured in said framework, two caster-wheels journaled in the forwardend of the machine and adapted to support said forward end, a rollerjournaled in the rear end of the framework and adapted to support therear of the machine, side bars extending upward and rearward at an anglefrom the main frame, a grass-receiving receptacle pivoted to said sidebars and depending therefrom, a roll journaled in the framework of themachine at a point near and in the rear of the cylindrical cutters, aroll j on rnaled between the side bars near their upper ends, means forcommunicating power from the traction-roller to the last-named roll forthe purpose of revolving the same, an endless apron adapted to passaround the two rolls, a link connected to the rearward end of thereceptacle, a lever pivoted at the forward end of the machine to whichthe forward end of the link is connected for the purpose of invertingthe receptacle, a small roller j ournaled in the framework of themachine between the cylindrical cutter and the rear traction-roller, andmeans adapted to Thus the machine can be steered be operated by the feetof the rider for turn ing the caster-wheels to steer the machine,substantially as described and for the purpose specified.

2. In combination with a lawn-mower, side bars secured to the frameworkof the lawnmower and extending upwardly and rearwardly at an angletherefrom, a' semicircular grass-receiving receptacle pivoted to anddepending from said side bars, means extending to the forward end of themachine for the purpose of inverting the grass-receiving receptacle forthe purpose of emptying the same, a roller journaled in the upper end ofthe side bars, a sprocket-wheel journaled loosely upon .the same shaftas the said roller, a'chain adapted topass around said sprocket-wheeland communicate motion to the same'from a suitable sonrce of power, aratchet-wheel secured upon the same shaft as the roller, a pawl pivotedupon the sprocket-wheel and adapted to engage the teeth of theratchet-wheel when the sprocket-wheel 'is revolved in one direction,aspring adapted to hold the pawl in engagement with the ratchet-teeth andallow the pawl to slip over the ratchet-teeth when the'sprocket-wheel isrevolved in the opposite direction, a roller journaled in the frameworkof the machine at a point near to and in the rear of the rotary cuttersof the mower, an endless apron adapted to pass around these two rollersand be driven by friction with the upper rearward roller, side guardsarranged upon each side of the endless apron and supported by theframework of the machine, substantially as described and for the purposespecified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM J. GLEASON.

Witnesses:

FRED. W. OASsI Y, CHARLES E. LEVER.

